Weiss Series final prelims for colts

WILKES-BARRE PA - Mohegan Sun at Pocono Downs's seasonal curtainraising series of early-closers, collectively known as the Bobby Weiss Series to honor the recently-retired trackman who made Pocono's surface into one of the best in the world, stages its fourth and final preliminary rounds over the next five days, with the highest prelim moneywinners eligible for their respective $30,000 Championship races.

The series, for late-developing three- and four-year-olds, have divisions for both gaits and both sexes. Covered here will be this week's races for the colts - pacers Saturday, trotters Sunday, with both drawing two divisions - with a release going out Monday, after fields are finalized, for Tuesday's pacing fillies and Wednesday's trotting misses.

During the pacing prelims, only one horse has been able to win during the three conducted to date - the four-year-old Tell All entire Getitoffyourchest, trained by Dick Lewis for owner David Banks. Banks and Lewis are certainly a patient pair, with their pacer making only three starts at two and five at three, but he has exploded at four, with four victories in as many starts, three in the Weiss, last week's a 1:51.1 tally that is the fastest prelim win of all the Weiss colts. Getitoffyourchest, though, was unlucky to shake the outside 8-ball at the draw, which should provide a big test for the horse and driver Mike Simons.

Trainer Rene Allard sends out a powerhouse pair in this cut, slotted for race 12. Somewhere With You (post four, driver George Napolitano Jr.) is the only other horse in the series with two prelim wins, coming in his last two starts, while stablemate City Hall (post two, driver Simon Allard) also visited the Weiss victory lane last week.

In the eighth race Weiss division Saturday, Try's Little Prince is the only horse to have a Weiss victory, and he has been accorded early favoritism from post four for driver Matt Kakaley and the all-conquering trainer Ron Burke and Burke Racing/Weaver Bruscemi ownership.

During Sunday's Weiss trotting action, the luck of the draw has put the two horses who have swept their three preliminaries, Sixteen Mikes and Ray Allen, in the same division, race 10. Ray Allen (post four, driver Tim Tetrick) has gone faster than Sixteen Mikes each week, including the 1:54 fastest prelim win to date last week, but Sixteen Mikes (post three) has shown great fortitude and must be respected for "The Trot Man," driver Mike Simons.

The other Sunday section has Mustodian) the early choice in race 12 as the only Weiss prelim winner in this field. That victory came last week in 1:55.3, and Mustodian has more than a decent chance to repeat from post one for driver Ron Pierce.

FINISHING LINES - The $30,000 Weiss Championships will be held exactly seven days after these final prelims, with one exception - after Saturday, April 19's colt pace comes Easter Sunday the next day, and the track will be dark. This means that the colt trot will join the filly pace on Tuesday, April 22, with the trotting fillies final one night later.